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Alliance to Restore the Republic
The Alliance to Restore the Republic (also known as the Alliance to Restore Freedom to the Galaxy, the Alliance of Free Planets, the Rebel Alliance, informally, as the Rebellion, and known by Imperial personnel as "Rebels", "Rebs", or "Rebel Scum" ), was a loose alliance of planetary-system-, and sector-level forces formed in direct military opposition to the Galactic Empire. It was originally formed by a group of Loyalists, determined to preserve the ideals of the Galactic Republic. The Corellian Treaty and the Declaration of Rebellion formally organized the Alliance, with the crest. The Alliance and the Galactic Empire engaged in open warfare in a conflict known as the Galactic Civil War, with the Rebellion fighting to restore liberty to The Galaxy. The origins of the overall anti-Imperial movement dated back to before the Old Republic's transformation into the Empire. Some of the Alliance's core founders, such as Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma of the Loyalist Committee, joined the Delegation of 2000 in its opposition against the authoritarian leadership of then-Chancellor Palpatine. By 10 BBY, several resistance groups were unified into a single rebellion, thus creating the Rebel Alliance. Hence, the Galactic Civil War erupted with the fledgling Alliance challenging the Empire for control of the galaxy. Though vastly outnumbered in manpower, starships, weapons and various other resources, the Rebels themselves possessed a strong will to fight. By and large, the Alliance was composed of well-trained soldiers and brilliant commanders, some of whom dedicated their lives to the Rebellion after defecting from the Empire due to the atrocities that were committed by the Imperial regime. The Alliance found its first major victory at Toprawa, and would later deal a massive blow to the Empire by destroying the Imperial Battlestation called the Death Star thanks to a Rebel pilot named Luke Skywalker. Years later, the Alliance would finally realize its goal of reviving the Old Republic, following the capture of Coruscant. History Early foundations The Rebellion against the Galactic Empire first began as a peaceful movement by a political minority, known as the Delegation of 2000, within the Imperial Senate. Emperor Palpatine's strategy for the enforcement of the New Order was based on brutal tactics, such as the implementation of the fear of military force in order to discourage ideas of insurrection. The rise of the Galactic Empire was not supported by all member worlds. Armed resistance In the following years, the Empire grew in size and power, small resistance cells began to spring up on planets across the Galaxy. These small and unorganized groups periodically raided Imperial installations, including sabotage that directly affected the Imperial construction of the Death Star. These groups were a mixed bunch, ranging from loyalists still holding on to the ideals of the Republic to former enemies of the government. As these early resistance cells became known to one another, former enemies became unexpected allies. Trouble on Alderaan Some raids were led by Jedi, determined to make a stand in the Dark Times. The incident also convinced Bail Organa that the Empire was a malevolent government. But it would take a coordinated alliance of rebels to fully pose a threat to the Empire. Massacre at Ghorman In about 10 BBY, a group of disillusioned civilians publicly protested against the Empire's despotic policies, including its high taxation of Ghorman. They staged their protest on the landing platform where Wilhuff Tarkin's ship was set to arrive. When they attempted to block Tarkin's arrival, the Governor simply landed his vessel on the platform, killing hundreds of activists in the process. This event, in what became known as the Ghorman Massacre, was interpreted as a tragedy by outraged sympathizers who also disagreed with the direction of the Empire. Jan Dodonna and other career officers whose service records dated back to the Republic either resigned or retired from Imperial service. When Imperial warships under the command of Wilhuff Tarkin landed on top of protesters against high Imperial taxation, killing hundreds, many in the galaxy began to wonder if this new Empire was in fact evil. Many career officers whose service records stretched back to the Republic, like Jan Dodonna, resigned or retired from Imperial service. Bail Organa, long opposed to armed resistance began to rethink his own role in the scheme of the brewing rebellion. Yet, with so many countless cells of rebels unorganized and uncoordinated, there seemed to be no chance of mounting a serious resistance to the Imperial regime. Cantham House and Corellian Treaty Discussion between Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis and Bail Organa continued at the Cantham House Meetings on Imperial Center. These meetings were informal, designed to gauge the respective leaders' commitment to open rebellion. Mon Mothma of Chandrila was by far the most outspoken critic to the Emperor, having been forced to go underground to avoid capture or death by Imperial agents. It was a last minute call from her friend and colleague Bail Organa that spared this future leader of the galaxy. Iblis's failure to hide his own discontent with the Empire also drove him underground in order to escape persecution. Less than ten years before the Battle of Yavin, the three main resistance forces of Chandrila, Alderaan, and Corellia joined forces and signed the Corellian Treaty. The Treaty was named for Garm Bel Iblis, as the Senator of Corellia, who had organized and personally guaranteed security for the three groups attending the meetings that led to the signing of the Treaty. This was the founding document of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, and set out the structure and framework of the Alliance. For the first time, scattered resistance groups began to unite and form into a real threat to the Empire. It was during these meetings that the Declaration of Rebellion was ratified. Mon Mothma was selected to be the Chief of State for the new Alliance, though this would cause some considerable friction between her and Garm Bel Iblis. Despite the fact that it was still small and woefully outnumbered, the Rebel Alliance was finally a reality. New allies and weapons The most notable equipment contributions included the defection of some Incom Corporation staff and all relevant material involved in the development of an advanced starfighter, the T-65 X-wing, which was acquired at the Battle of Fresia. With this advanced fighter, Rebel pilots had a clear advantage over the more numerous yet unshielded TIE fighters. With the help of Gial Ackbar, who had recently been freed by Rebel forces from slavery under the Empire, Mon Mothma then secured an alliance with the Mon Calamari, who openly joined the Rebel Alliance and used their renowned skill in ship construction to supply badly needed capital ships that could take on the Imperial Navy. Their considerable fleet of Mon Calamari Star Cruisers gave the newly formed Alliance substantial firepower. Part of the Alliance's strategy was the doctrine of space denial. That is, the Alliance would attack Imperial shipping in hit and run raids; both to disrupt Imperial supplies and operations, and to confiscate desperately needed materials. In these situations, their fighters had hyperdrive capability along prearranged routes which would allow this kind of harassment and escape before the Empire could react. Destruction of Aldera efforts after the destruction of Alderaan.]] Because several key Alliance figures were held prisoner on it after the signing of the Corellian Treaty, the Alliance learned of the construction of the Death Star, an enormous terror weapon capable of destroying an entire planet, intended to secure the Empire's power. An operation headed by Princess Leia was successful in retrieving the schematics of the station, but Darth Vader discovered the act and captured Leia. In an effort to get the young princess to divulge the location of the secret Rebel base, Grand Moff Tarkin threatened to destroy her home city of Aldera on the planet Alderaan. Yet, even after Leia gave him the location of an abandoned Rebel base, Tarkin ordered the Death Star to fire its superlaser. Leia watched as millions of her fellow Alderaanians were murdered by the vicious super-weapon. The Alliance would use this act as a propaganda tool to recruit more people into its ranks. A New Hope The Force was with the Alliance. Luke Skywalker, a young man from Tatooine, came under the tutelage of Jedi Master Ben Kenobi, after stormtroopers destroyed his farm and killed his uncle and aunt. The aged Jedi had been watching Luke for a long time. Knowing his family history and importance to defeating the Empire, Ben began training the boy as a Jedi. The duo, along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, secured passage on a freighter, Millennium Falcon. With the help of smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, the group managed to free Princess Leia Organa from the Death Star and deliver the plans to the Alliance. As a result, the Alliance succeeded in attacking and destroying the battle station, and also, in Luke, they gained their only loyal member with training in the use of the Force and the skills of the practically extinct Jedi Knights. Appearances *''Star Wars: A New Hope'' *''Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back'' *''Star Wars: Return of the Jedi'' Notes and references Category:Resistance groups Category:Governments